[Move The Chains] | S01E04 | Play Sheet #16
Yes, I'm still alive. Yes, the update is coming. Yes, it's taking way longer than I intended it to. Yes, the dev cycle is unreasonable at this point. Yes, changes are coming following this update.
With that out of the way, this'll be a short update on the status of where we're at with Episode 4. As many of you are probably aware of at this point, December through January is a busy part of the year for me. But for those new, 80 hour weeks aren't uncommon. And it always seems like the writing portion of the dev cycle lands around this point. Annoyingly. Writing is probably the part that takes the longest for me as I'm not really a natural writer. I'm good enough, I guess, but it probably takes me a bit longer than your average writer to get things written. Combine that with being exhausted and it ends up taking a little bit to get done.
And with this update, there were a few scenes with over a 100 renders that really leaned into dialogue. So, those scenes ended up taking a little bit to do. Anyways, onto the update.
I don't have a total render count on hand, but it's basically just under 2000. Not enough relative to the length of the dev cycle, I know. Should still be a relatively long update all the same given that there's a rather large amount of dialogue in this update.
Just to reiterate to anyone new, Season 1 was always intended to be the slowest portion of MTC. It's the world builder that introduces everything. Storylines, characters, paths, etc. I have a hard time seeing MTC being any longer than 4 seasons, maybe 5. The story, games, dating, etc. will get going in Season 2. More sex, more interactions with LIs, more everything that isn't just talking, really.
For writing, we're on Scene 23 of 30 (technically 29, but w/e.). Only one of which is over 80 renders. With my current pace, we should be done pretty soon with the writing. I'll do a few sweeps for grammar spelling, and then a more full one after the higher tier comes out (thanks for being my quasi-beta testers, though lol).
Postwork and music should be no more than few days each. Same for SFX, which I tend to do the same time as music. Of which, AI makes quite a lot easier.
Translations will be coming in Episode 5. Despite the button being there, it'll be just be null for now. But they are coming (via AI, but still there all the same.). If you're a translator actively working on a translation of the game as a volunteer, I'd be happy to have some people do a cursory glance over the translations in their languages, offer corrections, etc.
Like I said, there's not too much to offer right now. We're getting there, and for those still supporting, thanks for hanging around. Following this update, I'll be laying out a more comprehensive plan. And for supporters, there's going to be a few polls regarding that. There's no excuses for updates taking this long.
There's nothing new to really add here, so I'll just end this (very) short Play Sheet here. There's a few preview images attached above, as usual.
Comments (14)
also links for 3 etc seam broken.
How is the family doing ?
Any idea when the next update will be out?
great
i cannot get into this game but we shall see if i give it another go
Looking forward to playing it. More Diana + Alaina will be great.
hey, just happy to see you're not fading away, I really like the look and story you've got so far creators are usually their worst critics, (before asshat trolls started being mainstream) and not everyone is making bank off avns. like almost everyone. and I've been forced to be patient between releases. but please drop a message once in a while to let your fans know yours still here
Changes coming after this update. Right.
What exactly is your problem? You're the only one who read that and thought "the update was promised on this date".
let me be blunt, here. you are working on a game basically alone. you have a life, outside of your dev time, and that life includes work, which pays your bills, right now. if you had $10,000 a month in patreon memberships, maybe we'd have a legitimate reason to see things differently, but you don't, so we don't. it's not an excuse to say life gets in the way and slows things more than you'd like. it's reality. the day this becomes your full time job is the day you can start blaming yourself for not getting things done on the schedule you prefer. until then, your life dictates the time you have to create, and your talents and skills determine where you have the most time invested, to get the game the way you want it. if there's anyone here whining about how long this is taking, let them develop their own game. if it's have as well done as this one, maybe we'll start caring about their whining. this game is one of the better developed games(fleshed out and thought out) out there. that takes time. and when it can't be your #1 priority, 24/7, it's going to take more time. keep us aware of what you're working on, without wasting too much of your limited dev time to do it, and otherwise focus on doing the great work you've been doing. anyone unwilling to wait for this game isn't worth worrying about, to begin with. like i said, i'm being blunt. i couldn't do this, and i've got a comp sci degree and close to 2 decades in IT, to go with a lot of other work experiences. i know what it takes to write code. i know what it takes to write documentation(which would be your story arcs). and what you have to do is far more creative than the writing i did. so stop beating yourself up over things taking more time than you'd like. the fact you care is more than enough for us, because we know the end result will be worth the wait.
Just ask him out already.
I could see MTC going longer... Depending on where you Invision the end now. Just dont kill our mc at the end. Plz...
It's about finding that line between ending at the right time and not drawing things out. Seen a lot of good games eat it because of that.
You are back again sir/ mam I am so much happy right now 😊